The Latest: Kiwis beat Afghanistan for 3rd straight win

By Associated Press 09 June 2019, 12:00AM

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on Day 10 at the Cricket World Cup (all times local):

8:20 p.m.

A seven-wicket victory at Somerset has given New Zealand three wins from three games to start the Cricket World Cup and consigned Afghanistan to its third straight loss.

Afghanistan was bowled out for 172 after being sent in to bat in overcast conditions Saturday in Taunton. Jimmy Neesham (5-31) and Lockie Ferguson (4-37) reined in the Afghan innings after Hazrat Zazai (34) and Noor Ali Zadran (31) got away to a flyer with a 66-run opening stand.

After the innings derailed with four wickets for four runs in 20 balls, Hashmatullah Shahidi dug in to bat with the lower-order and top-scored for Afghanistan with 59.

Kane Williams led the way in New Zealand's chase with an unbeaten 79, including an 89-run third-wicket partnership with ex-captain Ross Taylor (48) as New Zealand reached 173-3 in the 33rd over.

Compounding woes for Afghanistan, star spinner Rashid Khan was hit on the helmet while he was batting and couldn't contribute for an Afghan bowling attack trying to defend a small total.

After three games in 10 days, Afghanistan gets a week off before taking on South Africa in Cardiff.

New Zealand's degree of difficulty increases with a game against 2011 champion India in Nottingham.

___

7:30 p.m.

England captain Eoin Morgan has played down any fears over the fitness of wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler, who didn't take the field for Bangladesh's innings in Cardiff.

Buttler hurt his hip while running a single during his innings of 64 and walked off gingerly after getting out. Jonny Bairstow took the gloves for Bangladesh's reply.

Morgan says "there's no serious concern at the moment" about Buttler and that "it's more precautionary rather than not being able to do his job."

___

7 p.m.

Rashid Khan has been ruled out of the remainder of Afghanistan's Cricket World Cup game against New Zealand after being hit on the helmet while batting.

The International Cricket Council issued a statement Saturday saying Khan was withdrawn as a precaution.

Rashid was dismissed without scoring when he ducked into a ball from Lockie Ferguson that jagged back, bounced sharply into him and deflected into the stumps.

He walked away from the crease with his head down, and was checked by team medical staff before he reached the boundary. He failed an initial test for concussion and the team's doctor later decided it was safer not to send the star spinner back onto the field.

Afghanistan's bowling attack will miss Rashid's contribution as it tries to defend a small total of 172 against the 2015 World Cup finalists.

After 14 overs in reply, New Zealand was 64-2.

___

6:45 p.m.

Tennis. It's not cricket. When it comes to Ash Barty, it doesn't matter.

Cricket lovers were quick to congratulate the Australian after she clinched her first Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros on Saturday, taking a little bit of credit for her rise in the world of tennis.

Barty took time out from tennis to play for the Brisbane Heat in Australia's women's cricket league. The time out from tennis seems to have done her some good, with her ranking — set to rise to No. 2 — going upward ever since her stint with the bat and ball.

The International Cricket Council congratulated Barty in a Twitter post that said "You can take the athlete out of cricket, but you can't take cricket out of the athlete!"

The Brisbane Heat, of course, was more effusive, telling Barty "We are so proud of you!"

Australia's men's team was practicing on Saturday afternoon in London preparing for a World Cup match against India on Sunday.

Barty, who quit tennis in 2014 and played cricket while spending two years off the pro tour, beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-1, 6-3 in the French Open final.

___

6:25 p.m.

Star spinner Rashid Khan has failed a concussion test after being struck on the helmet while batting and has not returned to the field as Afghanistan tries to defend a low total of 172 in a Cricket World Cup game against New Zealand.

Rashid was bowled without scoring when he ducked into a ball from Lockie Ferguson that jagged back and bounced sharply into him.

He walked away from the crease with his head down, and was checked by team medical staff before he reached the boundary. He was set to undergo a second test under cricket's concussion protocol before being allowed to play.

___

6:20 p.m.

England got its Cricket World Cup campaign back on track with a 106-run win over Bangladesh in Cardiff.

Jason Roy's 121-ball 153 led England to 386-6, the biggest total so far this tournament.

Bangladesh embarked on a World Cup-record chase and managed 280 all out in its reply, with allrounder Shakib Al Hasan's 121 off 119 balls in vain.

England bounced back from a surprising loss to Pakistan on Monday with its second win from three games to open the World Cup group stage. Bangladesh has two defeats from three games.

___

5:35 p.m.

Hashmattullah Shahidi slogged Lockie Ferguson for a boundary down the ground to raise his half century as he helped lift Afghanistan to 172 in 41.1 overs in a stop-start innings against New Zealand at the Cricket World Cup.

Afghanistan made a blazing start after being sent in on Somerset's County Ground to reach 66-0 in the 11th over before losing four wickets for four runs as the inning derailed.

Hazratullah Zazai (34) and Noor Ali Zadran (31) plundered the opening overs with some unorthodox shot-making, taking 12 from the first over and producing Afghanistan's best opening stand of the tournament before the New Zealanders hit back hard.

Jimmy Neesham made the initial breakthrough, ending an entertaining 28-ball knock from Zazai that contained five boundaries and a giant six into the pavilion.

Noor Ali gloved a short ball from Ferguson down leg side for a simple catch two balls later.

Rahmat Shah (0) and skipper Gulbadin Naib (4) both fell to Neesham as Afghanistan slumped to 70-4 in a 20-ball span.

The Afghans were 84-4 after 20 overs when showers interrupted play for the first time. Neesham nabbed two more middle-order wickets before and after a second rain interruption to finish with 5-31 from 10 overs.

Hashmattullah, who went to the crease at the fall of the second wicket, worked with the lower order to add valuable runs before he was last man out for 59 off 99 balls, caught at third man from the bowling of Ferguson (4-37).

Afghanistan is coming off losses to defending champion Australia and Sri Lanka, while 2015 runner-up New Zealand has opened with wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

___

4:40 p.m.

Shakib Al Hasan was leading Bangladesh's recovery and closing in on a century in the team's bid to chase down 386-6 against England at the Cricket World Cup.

Halfway through the reply at Cardiff, Bangladesh was 139-2 and Shakib was 79 not out.

Jofra Archer took the first wicket, of Soumya Sarkar (2), with a ball that clipped off the bails and flew some 50 meters straight over the boundary rope. The England paceman also fired down the fastest delivery of the World Cup at 95 mph (153 kph).

Mark Wood removed Tamim Iqbal, who was caught by Eoin Morgan for 19.

Mushfiqur Rahim was in the middle with Shakib on 29.

___

3:30 p.m.

Australia captain Aaron Finch will feel much better about his team's chances against India on Sunday at the Oval if they can remove Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma quickly.

Kohli and Sharma average more than 50 against Australia.

"You can't afford to give them too much freedom," Finch said on Saturday.

"Those first 10 or 15 balls it's about making them take a risk, and early wickets will be a real key."

Finch doesn't expect to be surprised by India, not after eight ODIs between the teams already this year. They were split 4-4.

"We've done our due diligence on every bowler," Finch said.

"All the guys are as well prepared mentally and tactically as they can be to face everything we expect from them so there'll be no surprises."

Then again, Finch admitted they thought they were well prepared for the West Indies and found themselves down 38-4 and 79-5 before eventually rallying to post a winning total.

"Sometimes it's harder to play when you know what's coming," Finch said. 'We just didn't commit to our plans for long enough, and that's a lesson we need to learn."

___

3:10 p.m.

Afghanistan made a blazing start before losing four wickets for four runs and was struggling at 84-4 when light rain suspended play in the 20th over of the group game against New Zealand at Taunton.

Openers Hazratullah Zazai (34) and Noor Ali Zadran (31) plundered the opening overs after Afghanistan was sent in to bat, taking 12 from the first over and reaching 66 without loss until the New Zealanders hit back hard.

Jimmy Neesham (3-15) made the opening breakthrough, having Zazai caught slicing out to Colin Munro at deep backward point to end an entertaining 28-ball innings that contained five boundaries and a giant six into the pavilion.

Noor Ali gloved a short ball from Lockie Ferguson (1-9) down leg side for a simple catch three balls later.

Rahmat Shah (0) and skipper Gulbadin Nabi (4) both fell to Neesham as Afghanistan slumped to 70-4 in a 20-ball span.

Afghanistan is coming off losses to defending champion Australia and Sri Lanka, while 2015 runner-up New Zealand has opened with wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

___

2:20 p.m.

Jason Roy smashed an umpire to the ground and Bangladesh's bowlers to all corners of Sophia Gardens in his 121-ball 153 to lead England to a tournament-high 386-6 at the Cricket World Cup on Saturday.

The explosive opening batsman posted his ninth century in one-day internationals and reached the milestone in bizarre fashion. Watching the ball dribble for four because of a misfield, Roy — jogging leisurely between the wickets — accidentally ran straight into unsuspecting West Indian umpire Joel Wilson.

A shaken Wilson took a while to get to his feet, as England's players looked on from the balcony of the team's dressing room with laughter and then in apparent concern. A doctor came onto the field to carry out a concussion test on Wilson, who was deemed OK to continue.

Roy carried on his assault on the Bangladesh attack, bringing up his 150 with three successive sixes — one going 97 meters, over the longest boundary — before attempting a fourth and miscuing Mehedi Hasan to cover. It was the second-highest World Cup score by an England batsman, falling just short of Andrew Strauss' 158 against India in 2011, and the biggest so far at this tournament.

Jos Buttler picked up the mantle on a blustery day in Cardiff, hitting 64 off 44 balls. Jonny Bairstow (51 off 50 balls) and Eoin Morgan (35 off 33) also weighed in as England topped the 348-8 made by Pakistan against the English at Trent Bridge on Monday.

England posted its best World Cup score and a third total in excess of 300 in this tournament.

___

1:15 p.m.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has won the toss and sent Afghanistan in to bat in the Cricket World Cup group game in Taunton.

New Zealand retained the same XI from its opening two wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the 2015 runners-up having the stated aim of maintaining consistency across the tournament.

Afghanistan made three changes after back-to-back losses, to defending champion Australia and Sri Lanka, including the injury-enforced replacement of batsman-wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad.

Among the changes, Noor Ali Zadran was promoted to open the innings, and 18-year-old Ikram Ali Khil will start as wicketkeeper just days after being drafted into the squad as cover for Shahzad.

Right-arm medium pacer Aftab Alam was recalled in place of Dawlat Zadran, who is being rested, and Noor Ali took Mujeeb ur Rahman's place in the XI.

Lineups:

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (captain), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

Afghanistan: Noor Ali Zadran, Hazrat Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Ali Khil, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan.

___

12:35 p.m.

Jason Roy accidentally knocked an umpire to the ground as he was about to start celebrating a century for England in the Cricket World Cup match against Bangladesh.

A misfield near the boundary allowed Roy to reach three-figures at Sophia Gardens. As he watched the ball dribble to the rope while jogging between the wickets, Roy ran into umpire Joel Wilson, who was also looking at the ball.

Wilson eventually got to his feet, with England's players howling with laughter from the balcony of the team's dressing room.

After 28 overs, Roy is on 101, Joe Root is 18 not out and England is 174-1.

___

12:15 p.m.

A local net bowler has been taken to the hospital after being reportedly hit on the head by a shot from Australia batsman David Warner in a practice session at the Oval.

Oval officials say Jaykishan Plaha, a club cricketer from London, was conscious and talking in the ambulance on the way to St. Thomas' Hospital in central London.

Practice was briefly stopped while medics attended to Plaha.

___

10:10 a.m.

Bangladesh has won the toss and chosen to bowl first against England.

While Bangladesh is unchanged from its loss to New Zealand, England has brought in paceman Liam Plunkett for allrounder Moeen Ali in its only change from the defeat to Pakistan.

The pitch is dry with a tinge of green, and there are short straight boundaries at Sophia Gardens.

Lineups:

England: Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (captain), Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehedi Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Mustafizur Rahman.

___

9:50 a.m.

It's Day 10 at the Cricket World Cup and there's already some pressure on host nation England heading into its group game against Bangladesh in windy Cardiff.

The pre-tournament favorite was jolted by a surprise loss to Pakistan in its second match, and another defeat to Bangladesh would leave it in early trouble.

Bangladesh has beaten the English at the last two World Cups, with the loss at the 2015 World Cup eliminating them in the group stage.

Like England, Bangladesh has won one and lost one of its first two games.

After the Pakistan-Sri Lanka match was washed out on Friday without a ball being bowled, conditions in the Welsh capital are dry but gusty.

Later, undefeated New Zealand meets winless Afghanistan in Taunton.

___

More AP cricket: www.apnews.com/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By Associated Press 09 June 2019, 12:00AM

Trending Stories

Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>